Blackberry sells R&D assets

Waterloo, Canada - BlackBerry is selling its research and development department in Germany to Volkswagen Infotainment, a subsidiary of the automaker that makes interactive technology for vehicle dashboards.

The companies said Thursday that the deal will shift about 200

BlackBerry employees in Bochum, Germany, to Volkswagen.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The move comes as the Ontario-based company looks to become profitable by its 2016 financial year.

BlackBerry has centralised most of its vehicle connectivity development at its QNX Software Systems division in Ottawa, Ontario.

Volkswagen will assume BlackBerry's offices leases at the Bochum University Center and the Design Support Lab.

BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion, was once Canada's most valuable company with an $83 billion market value in June 2008, but the stock has plummeted since. - Sapa-AP

Comment Guidelines

Has a comment offended you? Hover your mouse over the comment and wait until a small triangle appears on the right-hand side. Click triangle () and select "Flag as inappropriate". Our moderators will take action if need be.

Verified email addresses: All users on Independent Media news sites are now required to have a verified email address before being allowed to comment on articles. You are only required to verify your email address once to have full access to commenting on articles. For more information please read our comment guidelines